Ukrainian National Army

The Ukrainian National Army (UNA) was the armed forces of the Ukrainian National Republic in Exile, active from 17 March to 7 May 1945 during World War II. The UNA was commanded by Pavlo Shandruk, and its forces were drawn from the Galicia Division of the Waffen-SS, the remnants of the Ukrainian Liberation Army, and other Ukrainian volunteers, and the UNA fought for the Axis Powers during the war. The army had just 50,000 soldiers during its existence, and the division slowly withdrew from Slovenia into Austria in February 1945 as the Soviet Red Army advanced. The army split into several groups, with one group surrendering to the British 15th Army Group on the Italian border and another surrendering to the US 6th US Army Group at the German and Swiss borders. After the surrender, most of the UNA soldiers joined the French Foreign Legion or became exiles, with Polish government-in-exile leader Wladyslaw Anders granting asylum to the Ukrainian soldiers because of their status as former Polish citizens (otherwise, the Soviets would likely kill the returning Ukrainian troops).